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In the "I hate to say I said so" department, it appears that good old 'Mericuhn christians are pushing the envelope of good taste once again. First Pat says Haiti is in cahoots with his golf partner, Satan, and now copies of The Diary of Anne Frank are banned from the shelves (and book bags) of Culpeper County, Virginia public schools. Check out the Washington Post exclusive: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...01/28/AR2010012804001.html?hpid=sec-education

Maybe they did this to celebrate the recent death of Pierre Salinger?

Soon, the Holocaust and Nazis will no longer exist in 'Mericuhn hysteria books just so good christian children will be able to sleep better at night.

As for the rest of us non christians, well, isn't it obvious? We're all going to Hell.

Remember to drive safe. God's speed is 35 miles per hour. :smile::smile::smile:

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they are still going to teach the original version (which is what even good little jews like me read when we were young)

frankly, having never read the added pieces which detailed her burgeoning sexuality, i am not all that bothered by the decision to revert back to the previous copies...i think there are bigger battles to fight with the book-nurning crowd than this one...if we are not fighting against the ignorance of some knucklehead who wanted it banned on sexual grounds, there is always the complaint registered by the person in Alabama in 1983 who said the book should be banned because "It was a real downer"...obviously, he was expecting a terror filled tale about hiding from stormtroopers hell bent on incinerating a poor girl and her family to have a bit more of a positive, Curious George type of humor and optimism to it.

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Flashy, forgive my need to be hysterical. It felt so good. However, you'll note that only one, count it, one "family" complained to the school district which then decided to pull it from the curriculum without even following its own proper channels for investigating loose canon charges.

As I wrote to another, wiser, LPSG-er, I found this particular ban ironic and too close to the recent death of Pierre Salinger. I really didn't care for Catcher in the Rye when it was assigned reading in my little mormon 9th grade English class. But as of January, 2010, it has been and remains banned from my old high school (and school district) since 1975. They've even removed it (Catcher in the Rye) from the local city libraries.

As for the "vanilla" version of Anne Frank, I vividly remember my mormon junior high school English teacher telling the class that she had her doubts if the book was real. She didn't believe an adolescent girl could write such a compelling diary. But then again, that teacher was the victim of the Ewetaw (and BYU) education system.

Hmmm . . . it's been half a day and no one has caught on that I wrote "Pierre" Salinger instead of J.D. Salinger.

I thought so. :smile:

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I hadn't bothered looking at this thread since the title was somewhat on the useless side. I saw the Salinger error and would have mentioned it had not you already dragged the thread back up to note the readership failure. From past experience on this site, I've found pointing out these errors, unless one is on the select and elite list, garners responses of 'troll' 'stupid jerk' 'lush' 'moron' 'idiot' 'failed to see his great humor' etc. etc. In other words, why bother? It just isn't worth it.

Regarding the thread title, it didn't grab my interests since there's been censorship of reading materials in the public schools for decades. This is just another book added to an ever growing list {and has probably been on many lists already}.

Books banned at various times include {and comments on a few}:::

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony BurgessA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'EngleAnnie on My Mind by Nancy GardenAs I Lay Dying by William Faulkner~~all Faulkner is clearly racist according to some. Blubber by Judy Blume Brave New World by Aldous Huxley~~ too many drugs.Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Canterbury Tales by ChaucerCarrie by Stephen King~~ might offer children bad ideas about attending the prom.Catch-22 by Joseph HellerChristine by Stephen King~~ a possessed car? Mustn't let that out.Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller~~the suicide by car at the end must be a no-no.Decameron by BoccaccioEast of Eden by John SteinbeckFallen Angels by Walter Myers Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland ~~the title speaks for itself.Flowers For Algernon by Daniel KeyesForever by Judy BlumeGrendel by John Champlin Gardner Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam Harry Potter books by J.K. RowlingHeather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman ~~lesbianism must be viewed as a myth therefore no books about it.How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas RockwellHuckleberry Finn by Mark Twain I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Impressions edited by Jack Booth In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak It's Okay if You Don't Love Me by Norma KleinJames and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. LawrenceLeaves of Grass by Walt WhitmanLittle Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Lord of the Flies by William GoldingLove is One of the Choices by Norma KleinLysistrata by AristophanesMore Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher CollierMy House by Nikki Giovanni
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'HaraNight Chills by Dean Koontz Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken KeseyOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ordinary People by Judith GuestOur Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin SchwartzScary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz Separate Peace by John Knowles Silas Marner by George EliotSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain The Bastard by John JakesThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Devil's Alternative by Frederick ForsythThe Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks The Living Bible by William C. BowerThe Merchant of Venice by William ShakespeareThe New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman The Pigman by Paul Zindel The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence SandersThe Shining by Stephen KingThe Witches by Roald Dahl The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper LeeTwelfth Night by William ShakespeareWebster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff~~Lord knows what filthy words are in that book.Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth ~~mustn't have possible Paganism in ouur schools.

Isn't that covered in most History courses anyhow? I know the public schools I attended in Massachusetts made frequent mention and reference to it when necessary. Or are you wondering why public schools currently don't dissect it word per word and interpret it as if it was holy doctrine?

I just read in the news that certain schools are banning the dictionary in 4th and 5th grades because it contains the definition of oral sex. I guess if the students are trying to find the definition of one of the other, I don't know.. 80,000+ words, they're shit out of luck. I think maybe someone is a bit uptight.

I just read in the news that certain schools are banning the dictionary in 4th and 5th grades because it contains the definition of oral sex. I guess if the students are trying to find the definition of one of the other, I don't know.. 80,000+ words, they're shit out of luck. I think maybe someone is a bit uptight.

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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony BurgessA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'EngleAnnie on My Mind by Nancy GardenAs I Lay Dying by William Faulkner~~all Faulkner is clearly racist according to some. Blubber by Judy Blume Brave New World by Aldous Huxley~~ too many drugs.Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Canterbury Tales by ChaucerCarrie by Stephen King~~ might offer children bad ideas about attending the prom.Catch-22 by Joseph HellerChristine by Stephen King~~ a possessed car? Mustn't let that out.Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller~~the suicide by car at the end must be a no-no.Decameron by BoccaccioEast of Eden by John SteinbeckFallen Angels by Walter Myers Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland ~~the title speaks for itself.Flowers For Algernon by Daniel KeyesForever by Judy BlumeGrendel by John Champlin Gardner Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam Harry Potter books by J.K. RowlingHeather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman ~~lesbianism must be viewed as a myth therefore no books about it.How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas RockwellHuckleberry Finn by Mark Twain I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Impressions edited by Jack Booth In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak It's Okay if You Don't Love Me by Norma KleinJames and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. LawrenceLeaves of Grass by Walt WhitmanLittle Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Lord of the Flies by William GoldingLove is One of the Choices by Norma KleinLysistrata by AristophanesMore Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher CollierMy House by Nikki Giovanni
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'HaraNight Chills by Dean Koontz Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken KeseyOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ordinary People by Judith GuestOur Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin SchwartzScary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz Separate Peace by John Knowles Silas Marner by George EliotSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain The Bastard by John JakesThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Devil's Alternative by Frederick ForsythThe Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks The Living Bible by William C. BowerThe Merchant of Venice by William ShakespeareThe New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman The Pigman by Paul Zindel The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence SandersThe Shining by Stephen KingThe Witches by Roald Dahl The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper LeeTwelfth Night by William ShakespeareWebster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff~~Lord knows what filthy words are in that book.Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth ~~mustn't have possible Paganism in ouur schools.

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Do a google search of banned books united states public schools. One of the early entries is this one {from which the list was pilfered}:: Banned Books

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Of course, Onslow is quite correct. However, I hadn't meant to play troll when I started the Banned Anne Frank thread. I'm probably just a bit too sensitive to book banning, believing that bad books censor themselves by losing their reading pubic (the faux, semi-ghost written autobiography of Sara Palin for example).

One of my first business ventures that didn't involve real estate was my favorite toy: a book store. And yes, we had an official book store cat, even though I'm deadly allergic to cats. However, the cat and I had brokered a deal He had his rooms in the book store and I had mine.

Every year my staff would gleefully arrange the window display for Banned Book Week and take special pride whipping up an amazingly informative as well as deliriously funny newsletter. Remember newsletters? And also every year we would attract the ire of "christian" parents offended at our celebration of how stupid we felt censorship is. And how did we know they were "christian", because they wrote, came in and complained, wrote to the local papers and identified themselves as purveyors of good "christian" values. Rocks would be thrown. Windows would be broken. And this was in San Francisco! A very knowing employee suggested that maybe if we removed the various versions of the Holy Bible, Koran, Book of Mormon -- all banned books at one time or another -- from our joyous display we might not have to replace so much glass. She was partially correct. But we never censored our censored books from our "censored" display.

By the time the Judy Blume books had become fodder for the National Parents Teachers Association was about the time I completely lost it. So, I sold the store to the staff (they got a real good deal) and hung around for about a year to make sure they were successful. And they were until . . . . well, the sudden rise of the big chain book stores were too much competition. Yet another form of censorship? Fortunately there isn't a Barnes and Noble, Borders, or other giant chain in Barcelona or Buenos Aires. Besides, those chains carry very few novels, poetry, natural science, business, and history books in foreign languages.

Sure, I'll admit to being an asshole. But at least I'm an asshole with a purpose. :smile:

HazelGod: Point of fact, I'm too frightened to take a look. Seriously.

Please excuse me while I get back to memorizing Fahrenheit 451.

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And unfortunately, it's largely the liberal community that seems to be slipping in the education dept. Young liberals have been trained to expect handouts and benefit from public funding, and for the most part, any ambition or goal-seeking has been stripped from them at an early age.

Moreover, the liberal teaching community instills the values of 'entitlements' and 'you deserve this' which is robbing this country of kids that can achieve and make a difference.

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And unfortunately, it's largely the liberal community that seems to be slipping in the education dept. Young liberals have been trained to expect handouts and benefit from public funding, and for the most part, any ambition or goal-seeking has been stripped from them at an early age.

Moreover, the liberal teaching community instills the values of 'entitlements' and 'you deserve this' which is robbing this country of kids that can achieve and make a difference.

It is truly a shame, and it is getting worse by the day.

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What colour of Kool-Aid have you been drinking today Star?

The young people attending post secondary schools that I know, the two dozen or so that I can count as family members or close friends, have not had any big handouts. They go to school either by working and getting help from their parents, or taking out loans to pay for it. Or a combination of the above. My own kid is the only one I know that didn't need to work, although she did. We started a education trust for her when she was 4 months old, and that pretty much paid for everything 17 years later.

I'd like to see you back up what you said above-

Young liberals have been trained to expect handouts and benefit from public funding, and for the most part, any ambition or goal-seeking has been stripped from them at an early age.

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with some facts. Or at least some first person anecdotes. Because from where I stand it's just boilerplate.

When I sit and talk with my young relatives or their friends, I am bloody amazed at how well informed they are. They also work their butts off. One of my nephews just got his doctorate in veterinary medicine. Believe me, no one gets handed that on a silver platter. He worked his ass off and has 200 grand in debts.

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And unfortunately, it's largely the liberal community that seems to be slipping in the education dept. Young liberals have been trained to expect handouts and benefit from public funding, and for the most part, any ambition or goal-seeking has been stripped from them at an early age.

Moreover, the liberal teaching community instills the values of 'entitlements' and 'you deserve this' which is robbing this country of kids that can achieve and make a difference.

It is truly a shame, and it is getting worse by the day.

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Two words, ignorant asshole. It is the "liberal elite" that pushes the books and the knowledge that is missing from the curriculum. The conservative element wants to limit what children can see and read.

Young liberal have been trained to expect handouts. Damn, you have got to get out of your cave more often. They are taught to help others and that knowledge is not something to be scared of.